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Current Affairs [PDF] - March 16-31, 2020

since independence.
First Pay commission
The first pay commission was set up in 1947 under the leadership of Srinivasa Varadachariar. It was called
the Post war pay committee. In 1947-48, the Indo-Pakistani war or the first Kashmir war was fought. The
committee did not mention about pension benefits of the defence personnel. The pension of the defence
forces were fixed by a separate committee called the “Armed Forces Pension Revision Committee” set up in
1949-50.
FDA approves Convalescent Plasma Treatment for seriously ill COVID-19 patients
The Food and Drug Administration of the United States has approved the use of Convalescent plasma
collected from patients recovered from COVID-19 to treat seriously ill COVID-19 patients. The idea of the
method is to inject plasma with antibodies into critically ill patients for them to gain immunity against the
virus.
Highlights
The Convalescent plasma treatment had earlier been studied during the outbreaks of 2003 SARS-CoV-1
epidemic, 2009-10 H1N1 influenza virus and 2012 MERS-CoV epidemic.
The treatment is mere collection of plasma from a COVID-19 recovered patient and inject them into a
critically ill patient of COVID-19
What is Plasma?
Plasma is the major part of the blood. Apart from RBC, WBC and platelets in the blood, all the other fluid
content is referred as Plasma. It makes up more than 55% of blood in human body. When separated from
blood, it becomes light yellow liquid. This is because, blood is red in color due to the RBCs.
The main role of plasma is to carry hormones, nutrients and proteins to different parts of the body.
RBI approves Mega Bank Consolidation Plan
The Reserve Bank of India is to implement a merger plan of 10 state-run banks into 4 larger banks from
April 1, 2020. The Amalgamation of the banks had been notified by the GoI earlier of March 2020.
Amalgamation Plan
According to the plan, the United Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce are to be merged with
Punjab National Bank. The Syndicate Bank is to be amalgamated with Canara Bank. The Allahabad Bank is
to be amalgamated with Indian Bank. Also, Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank are to be amalgamated with
Union Bank of India.
RBI’s approval
The amalgamation plan has been initiated by the GoI. However, the plan is to be implemented by RBI. This is
because the Reserve Bank plays the role of the apex in banking sector.
Section 7 of RBI act
The Section 7 of the RBI act empowers the GoI to make rulings on the functioning of RBI in matters of public
interest. With this power, the Finance Minister has initiated the amalgamation plan and the plan has been
approved by RBI.
India to get uninterrupted LPG supply from Saudi Arabia
On March 29, 2020, the Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced that Saudi Arabia has assured India
on uninterrupted LPG supply amidst growing threat of COVID-19.
LPG in India
India is the second largest importer of LPG in the world. It fulfils half of its requirements from the middle
east countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait.
LPG Imports of India
With Government of India promoting cleaner fuel, the usage of LPG in India has increased. In the year

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